Sinfully Summer. Aimee Duffy

down the last of the champagne. It didn’t help.

      She turned to him, a smile of triumph curved her hot-red lips, flashing bright, white teeth. He opened his mouth—to say what, he had no idea—but then she stepped out from behind the car door and his mind blanked.

      His gaze was drawn down over the clingy fabric which hugged every delectable curve of her body. The bronze silk flowed down to her ankles, but it by no means covered her legs. A slit cut through the material, up past her bare hipbone. The pulse in his groin grew more prominent as he prayed she wore high legged knickers and hadn’t gone without.

      A long, supple leg poked all the way out of the slit as she strode toward him. He was frozen to the spot and his mind seemed to have crashed south.

      Pausing in front of him, Alexa tilted her head to the side and looked up. ‘You like?’

       Too much.

      He remembered his promise to himself. Straightening and dragging in a breath through his teeth, Ric forced himself to concentrate. ‘I said formal, Alexa.’ He frowned to drive home his point.

      ‘This—’ She spun around, exhibiting golden skin he ached to drag his teeth over. ‘—is as formal as you’ll get from me.’

      Her smile, filled with mischief, tipped his libido over the edge. He grabbed her hips and pulled her flush against him. Humour fled her expression as her head tilted back and her eyes sparkled shiny platinum. Ric didn’t know what she’d see, but he could guess. His hunger pulsed in his groin in time with his rapid heartbeats. Her pupils dilated, and he knew then he wasn’t the only one feeling this crazed pull between them.

      ‘This—’ He drew a finger down the silky skin on her naked back, pausing when it met the material over the curve of her buttocks ‘—is not formal.’ Her tremble vibrated through him.

      Alexa planted her palms on his chest and her breathing sped. Her tongue poked out and moistened her lips. Irritation forgotten, he lowered his head. As he drew closer he could taste her sweet breath. Every cell inside him screamed to plunder her mouth and take all she had to offer, and he knew from her pliant body and come-to-bed eyes that she would definitely offer, whether she was still angry at him or not. His hands, now settled on hips that were exactly as firm as he’d imagined, itched to slip through the split and find out whether she did wear anything beneath the scrap.

      Alexa’s eyes closed and her lips parted. His hands were an inch away and his body hummed in anticipation.

      ‘Ric, darling. There you are!’

      Ric snapped out of the spell Alexa held over him and turned his attention to his mother, Maria Castillo, who was walking toward them from the boathouse. His whole body ran cold. Alexa tried to pull out of his hold, but he tightened his grip reflexively.

      Ric hated being indebted to anyone and the fact he owed Maria and Antonio more than he could ever repay made him uncomfortable. They’d adopted him to protect his past with their name and help him start a new life. He’d thrown it back in their faces, using their money to fund his obsession to find a new high jumping out of planes, speedboat racing and whatever else caught his interest.

      Now he wanted to prove he could change, be trusted enough to pay them back by making their hotel and new resort in Marbella flourish. Maybe even go into the new resort as a partner, not just an employee. The fact they had handed him the management of Hotel Castillo after all he’d done made him more determined to prove himself.

      ‘Maria,’ he acknowledged. ‘I’d like you to meet my date, Alexa Green.’

      Maria beamed at Alexa, who he released, grateful for the interruption. Kissing Alexa would have been a colossal mistake. Though there’d been a time when he wouldn’t have hesitated to seduce her for gain, he wasn’t that person any more. And he wanted that part of his past to stay buried. If what he had done became public knowledge, the Castillos’ reputation would be tarnished beyond repair. Dating someone with her bad press would be like digging up everything he was ashamed of and announcing it to the world.

      Using her fame to his advantage, however, was a risk he’d take for the charity.

      Alexa turned to the older woman and extended her hand. ‘Mrs Castillo, you have a lovely home.’

      Ric couldn’t believe Alexa recognised the other woman. Maria and her husband were well known in Spain for their expanding chain of luxury hotels and charity work, but he hadn’t thought the news of their success would spread to London or if it did, that it would be the kind of news to interest Alexa.

      ‘Thank you. Where did you get your dress? It’s stunning.’

      Ric stiffened. He was reminded yet again how little the silk number covered. It was entirely inappropriate. His irritation returned full force.

      Not to mention the way it chiselled away at the resistance he’d spent the day building up towards her. Alexa answered Maria and went on to talk about shoes. He held onto his irritation with a death grip. Inviting her tonight had been a mistake. People would take one look at her on his arm and he could kiss their presence at his function goodbye. After all, what self-respecting businessman would date someone as wild and inappropriate as Alexa?

      Flowing champagne, good food and boring conversation seemed to make the stick up Ric’s ass more apparent. Alexa kept a polite smile on her face as he stiffly marched her from one mind-numbing introduction to another, his hand never leaving her hip.

      Her skin hadn’t stopped prickling since she’d seen the way he’d eyed her when she left the limo—the look she’d been both dreading and anticipating all day. The one that said he wouldn’t mind tearing the dress from her body with his teeth, then showing her what his idea of fun really was…

       Get your head out of the gutter, girl.

      Then the almost kiss. Her heart pounded remembering. She’d forgotten that she was still angry at him and submitted to his hunger. She’d even felt the same feral attraction she saw in his eyes, an attraction she needed to get over quick. Thank god Mrs Castillo had interrupted them or she’d have been one frisk away from ending up like her mother.

      Her eyes flickered to Ric. He sported a charming smile while he nattered in Spanish to a couple who couldn’t speak English. She wondered again why he tensed up when Mrs Castillo had appeared. Maybe he was grateful she’d interrupted them—or irritated—but he looked uncomfortable more than anything.

      The fire in her belly, and her desperation to hide it, made the party more interesting than it should have been. Throughout, she managed to keep her business head on and treated the night like she would if she were scouting clients for Together. And she had the feeling Ric was scouting too, but no idea why.

      As she glanced around at the décor, she felt like she was in a fairy-tale. Everything was shiny and grand. The lighting highlighted the white table cloths with pink and baby blue trimmings. A huge, crystal chandelier sporting five tiers centred the massive dance floor and a band dressed in tuxedos played on the stage at the far back of the room. The place oozed money and class and made her a little uncomfortable. It was too similar to the parties she’d been dragged to by her father after her mother died.

      ‘Mr and Mrs Santos, this is Alexa Green.’ Ric introduced her to an elderly man with a twenty something year old wife.

      Alexa noticed that after he introduced her to Mrs Castillo he stopped referring to her as his date. It was around the same time he started to act like someone had shoved the stick up his ass.

      Alexa held her hand out and allowed Mr Santos to brush the back with his lips. His wife threw her a death glare, then turned to Ric with a sultry glint in her eye. Alexa stepped closer to Ric. She may not be dating him, and didn’t even particularly like him, but it was rude to eye up other people’s partners, and so blatantly. Alexa decided she didn’t like the skinny blonde.

      Ric’s hand tightened on her hip.

      ‘A pleasure to meet you, novia,’ Mr Santos crooned while his wife remained eerily